Victim testifies at Norristown assault, kidnapping trial

COURTHOUSE — Khanneil Headley told a jury that Rayon Scarlett did unspeakable things to him in a Norristown apartment in March 2008, during day one of testimony in the assault and kidnapping case of the Commonwealth v. Scarlett, which commenced Thursday morning.

The case appears to be a result of a family feud that erupted into violent retaliation for one man allegedly “snitching” on his brother-in-law.

Headley testified that Scarlett, 25, conspired with three young men — two of them Scarlett’s brothers — to “cut him up into pieces” and dispose of his body in New York to prevent word getting out about Headley’s whereabouts.

According to the affidavit of probably cause, on March 28, 2008, around 5:30 a.m., Headley walked barefoot into Norristown Police Department, his hands tied around his back with an extension cord.

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During an interview with police, Headley said that hours after a birthday party for one of the Scarlett boys the previous day, he heard a knock on his door at an apartment at 400 East Marshall St. A man reportedly put an automatic rifle to his head and ordered him to lie face-down on the floor.

For the next four hours, Headley said, he endured a “traumatizing” ordeal.

He claimed he was tied up with an extension cord, threatened with the gun and a large kitchen knife and called a “snitch” for allegedly cooperating with police during a 2007 investigation into drug and firearms offenses that would have been damaging to Rayon Scarlett.

“Rayon said they should take me to New York and get rid of me, because they didn’t want it to be in the media,” said Headley.

During the cross-examination of Norristown Detective Lt. Michael Crescitelli, who was called as a witness for the commonwealth, defense attorney Keith A. Harbison argued that his client’s fingerprints were not found anywhere in the East Marshall Street house.

“Am I correct your arrest(s) and investigation is not based on forensic evidence, but merely by the testimony of Mr. Headley?” Harbison asked.

“A large portion, yes,” said Crescitelli.

According to the affidavit, one of the men holding Headley captive that night in March 2008 shoved a gun in his mouth, told him to beg for his life and forced him to drink an unknown liquid out of a Gatorade bottle, which made him throw up. He also stated he was robbed of an earring, his wallet and a gold necklace.

Crescitelli testified that during his sweep of the house, he reportedly found it in complete disarray, with clothes scattered about, trash from MacDonald’s everywhere, spilled liquids on the bed, vomit on the floor and an empty Gatorade bottle and one or two kitchen knives on the floor.

Earlier in the investigation, detectives found a rifle in the backyard of 806 Smith St., the home of Rayon Scarlett and some of his brothers. The rifle matched the description given by Headley, according to detectives.

Perhaps the most telling piece of evidence found at the Marshall Street apartment, however, was a folded-up copy of the statement Headley made to police six months earlier.

Kemara Scarlett, the 23-year-old sister of Rayon Scarlett and Headley’s estranged wife, testified that she was with the group the night of March 27, 2008.

She said about 20 to 30 people were having a party at the Smith Street house, with Headley acting as DJ. According to her testimony, Headley is the father of her two children, ages 2 and 4, and the pair moved to Florida in 2008 after the incident.

Called as a witness for the defense, Kemara Scarlett told the jury that Headley consumed “a good amount” of liquor that evening but left the party sometime after 1 a.m., while she and her brother stayed at the Smith Street house to clean up.

Under cross-examination by Assistant District Attorney Justin Boehret, Kemara Scarlett adamantly denied she ever discussed the case with Headley.

“Isn’t it true that you told (Headley) not to testify in this case?” Boehret asked.

“No,” Kemara Scarlett replied.

“Isn’t it true that you threatened to take his kids away if he testified against Rayon?”

“No,” she replied, and at that point she was dismissed as a witness.

Rayon Scarlett is charged with simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, terroristic threats, kidnapping, unlawful restraint and theft. A charge of criminal conspiracy to commit murder was later dropped.